Château de Chambord

Chambord

Acquired by the Crown in 1491, the estate of Chambord became the dream in stone of Francis I, dazzled by the Italian Renaissance after Marignano (1515): on 6 September 1519, the order was given to François de Pontbriand to open the building site. Interrupted by the Italian Wars (1521–1526), the main structure was finished in 1547, and the whole was only completed under Louis XIV. The original design is attributed to the Tuscan Domenico da Cortona, but many scholars agree in seeing the hand of Leonardo da Vinci in the central double-helix staircase: two intertwined spirals where one climbs and descends without ever meeting — the "magic staircase" that has fed stories and speculation for five centuries. The colossus counts 440 rooms, 84 staircases, more than 800 carved columns and a profusion of chimneys. Charles V was received here with great pomp in 1539. Listed as a historic monument as early as 1840, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981 and then included in the Loire Valley listing (2000), Chambord reigns at the heart of an enclosed forest park, a former presidential hunting reserve.

Getting there : Domaine national de Chambord, some fifteen kilometres east of Blois; château and park open all year (ticket office); the whole commune belongs to the State.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound